We Found Love in a Hopeless Place
by SamchelIsOTP
Summary: When Rachel realizes she needs more than just her voice to be accepted into the school of her dreams, she decides to volunteer at Homelessville, where she re-meets with a long lost boy that unknowingly gave her hope to truly be herself.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been a long time! I know, I haven't updated It's a Carousel since ever, but I will update it soon :) This was supposed to be a one-shot, but decided to break it up a bit. Hope you like it! Review, but don't diss!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my words and love for Sam Evans.**

Everyone has to grow up eventually. Everyone has to learn to become independent, able to be self-sustaining.

Rachel Berry is very good at being alone. In fact, she's practically been alone all her 17 years of life, and she predicts there will still be many years to come.

She always considered herself to be mature and ready for anything. She constantly tries her best and aims higher than high. As much as everyone hates to admit it, she is right. She believed that once anyone heard her voice they wouldn't be able to deny her talent.

Until that day at the Ohio "mixer", it had never dawned on her that she needed more proof, something other than her voice. For example, a very long resume filled with experience like Harmony's.

The realization had hit her like a grape slushie in the face. Slushies had been thrown at her all throughout her high school years and she had grown accustomed to the horrible feeling, but this metaphorical slushie was different. It was stronger, colder, and stickier. No matter how much she washed her hair and wiped her face, she could still feel traces of that not-so-sweet beverage. How was she supposed to get into Julliard without any experience, the job or volunteer kind?

From that moment at the mixer on, Rachel swore to spend her senior year volunteering and working, doing anything that is possible to add to her resume.

One of the places she volunteers at is Homelessville, her favourite volunteering opportunity of all time. It reminds her of a certain someone that had moved away at the end the last school year. Every time she helps, she gets that feeling, the one she had fist witnessed at Sam Evans' motel room of a house. She and Finn visited Sam to inspire him and return his guitar that he had sold in order to make some extra money, but never occurred to her that Sam would inspire her instead. Rachel had felt something magnificent, like she had a purpose. She would never forget Sam's face when she handed that guitar back to him. She would never forget Sam. Period.

He'd moved away, his dad found a job and he was suddenly gone. He moved on, just like everyone else at McKinley high school. Except Rachel, who thought about him from time to time. Sam left his footprint on Rachel Berry. She'd wonder what he's like now, if he still puts lemon juice on his hair, had grown out of that sci-fi phase, if his family was doing better financially…

Most of all, she'd wonder if he ever thought about her.

Her week had been a stressful one. Between vocal lessons, school work, and going up against her "best friend" Kurt, and she uses the term "best friend" very loosely, because it had never been a stable friendship with him. Yes, they share the same dreams and interests, but instead of bringing them together, it was their downfall. It was always a competition with them, and they tried to make it friendly, but to no avail. When it came down to it, neither of them was there for each other. Anyway, between all these activities and more, she was losing it. Luckily, Sunday arrived and Rachel was more than happy to return to her volunteering job at Homelessville.

She entered the kitchen and took in the heartwarming atmosphere that reminded her of hope, union. Hunger, and, well, Sam Evans.

But something was amiss. _What could it be?_ She asked herself. One look at her supervisor and her assumption was confirmed.

"Rachel…", the tall, blond woman said while slowly shaking her head. Rachel always laughed to herself at the fact that her supervisor's voice was sweet and calm, but Moga was as built as a pro wrestler. She fought back the urge to smile despite the tension.

"I've got some news"

_Oh no._ Maybe the homeless don't like the substitute meat and poultry she introduced last week.

"You're being transferred"

"Transferred? To where?"

_Transferred, not fired,_ she reminded herself.

"Across town. I'm sorry, but this location is in high demand, while the other one across town needs more help and experienced people. I think you'd be a great asset to them and have chosen you to be transferred. I know it won't be a huge problem since you're the only one out of the volunteers with her own car and doesn't still take the bus"

Rachel relaxed completely. That wasn't bad news at all. Yes, a bit more of a hassle to get there, but manageable.

"Sure, no problem. When do I start?"

"Thanks so much. Here's the address. Drop by there same time next week"

Rachel took the slip of paper from Moga's meaty hands and went on with her duties. She made sure to be extra friendly to everyone, it was her last day after all, and she had to make it worthwhile. Next week she was starting somewhere new.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2!**

**I'm focusing on serious character development for both of them, you'll see as you read further. **

**The Wonderful Mistique: No it isn't. Yes, they start out as friends a little bit, but there's obviously some attraction between them. I just hate it when it skips straight from meet again and BOOM! love. It's pretty unrealistic to me. **

**Thank you to all the reviewers, glad you like it :)**

**If you have any questions/comment/concerns/compliments please make sure to let me know. I'm open for opinions and am always looking to improve!**

**I'm nowhere near perfect, I make mistakes. My apologies.**

**Also, did anyone notice my SNL reference? :P**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

It turned out that the trip to Homelessville was only about 20 minutes long. _Not as bad as I thought_, Rachel said to herself.

However, on the drive there she had more than enough time to wonder whether she'd be as easily accepted into this new location as she was in the last one. The last one has taken her in with open arms, much unlike the students, and sometimes teachers, at McKinley high school. She truly hoped they'd be friendly, or at least decent towards her. She found herself shaking as she stepped out of her hybrid car. She told herself to relax as her rain boots stomped on the slush leftover from winter. Once she had reached he big wooden doors of Homelessville, she let herself take a big breath.

Rachel was welcome by the familiar smell of chicken soup, but this chicken soup had a little burn to it. Literally. The place looked the exact same, except everyone was running around frantically, faces flushed.

"Rachel?" a red-faced blonde appeared into her view; her eyes seemed huge and desperately bore into hers.

"Uh, yes…"

"THANK GOD!"

The blonde grabbed Rachel's hand without hesitation and led her into the kitchen.

"We're opening in an hour and we've done absolutely nothing! The soup's cooking but that's pretty much it. We need you, Rach"

Before Rachel could even open her mouth, the blonde pulled her into a tight hug. _She is obviously not familiar with boundaries._

"Oh gosh, I always forget this part. I'm Patty, the supervisor. Not a very good one by the way" Patty pursed her lips and lowered her head in shame.

"Nice to meet you"

Patty gives her a beaming smile for one second, but her face soon goes right back to frantic.

"The bread! I forgot about the bread!" She blots out the doors, leaving a dazed Rachel behind and off to her own devices.

"Patty freaks everyone out, don't worry, you'll get used to her"

Rachel freezes. That voice, it's familiar.

She forces herself to turn around and face the source of the voice. Only one person could have that friendly voice, but no, it can't be…

Sure enough though, she finds herself face to face with an equally as shocked green eyed, sci-fi lover.

Sam Evans.

She never thought she'd see him again. Sam Evans! She half thought she'd imagined him.

"Rachel?"

"Sam…" the brunette couldn't help but smile.

"Rachel!" Sam returned the smile, but only for a fraction of a second, his face turned showed worried, with eyes bulged out he said, "Rachel?"

"What are you doing here?" he urged. It dawned on her that maybe he wasn't happy to see her at all. His tone was nowhere near friendly.

"I was transferred…" she stammered out.

_He's tall,_ she observed. _But he's always been tall. His hair's different; it's brown and short. He has a sort of rock hairstyle. His sense of style is completely different. Leather jacket, white v-neck, and grey faded jeans. He's mature. And sexy._

He punched his thigh and let out an exasperated sigh while Rachel regained herself.

"I should ask you the same thing"

"I- well- I moved back to Ohio at the end of summer break"

"That's great! Why didn't you tell us?" she asked with a huge smile.

"I didn't think anyone cared…" he admitted.

"I care! I've missed you…" she trails off, telling herself to shut up.

"Really?"

A small and shy smile appears on his face.

She nods vigorously. She'd said the right thing.

"Cool", he replies, now back to his rock star pose. "How's McKinley these days?"

"Same as always", she replies sadly. "But I'm hanging on"

"Ah", he goes into thought. Rachel has half a mind to ask him what he's thinking about, but chooses to change the topic instead.

"So how have you been? Which school do you go to?"

"Riverdale"

That school's only 5 minutes away from here, I passed by it on my way here.

"Oh, so you live near here?"

"Not exactly"

He's playing with his hands now, avoiding eye contact with her.

"You know, McKinley really misses you. We could use an extra member."

He shakes her head before she even finishes speaking.

"No, I just wanted change", he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly before adding, "I should get started on dessert"

He turns around before Rachel can utter out a goodbye. He's halfway out the door when he notices that Rachel's following close behind.

"Let me help"

"This is really a one person job…"

"I insist. I have no idea what I should do, Patty bolted before giving me any instructions"

"Uh, ok. Follow me"

He leads her to the back room, where they fetch different types of fruits, cutting boards and knifes. They go back to the kitchen and start slicing. After what seems like an awkward eternity to Rachel, Sam breaks the silence.

"How are you? Still wowing everyone with that amazing voice?" he teases with a smile.

It's Rachel's turn to feel uneasy. She doesn't want to tell him that she's right back to being ignored and dumped. That everyone hates her again.

"You bet", she mumbles out, with a forced smile.

"You ok?"

Sam has always been the kind to notice when something's wrong. She curses him for that before responding with a more dramatic, "Of course".

Sam either fell for her act or decided to drop it, because he doesn't ask about it further.

They make small conversation as they finish the fruit salads and set the tables with a few other volunteers.

"Hey Rachel, can you please not tell anyone you saw me?"

"Sure, but why would-"

"How are we going to get through tonight?" Patty interrupts as she enters the kitchen with a few bags of bread. She went to the store to get some bread to substitute for the other burnt bread.

"Pat, relax. We finished the rest of the work"

Sam walks over to her and gives her a one-shouldered hug for comfort. Rachel can't help but sulk when she returns the hug. Are they an item?

"Sorry you had to see me like this Rach"

"No problem, Patty. We all have our days", she responds.

"Thank you for coming hun, but sadly, this place is hopeless"

"I'm sure that with a bit more work and people we could really get somewhere", she offers encouragingly, which makes Sam smile and remember that Rachel's never been one to give up. It's an admirable quality.

"Could happen. So, have you two met? What do you think of my Sammy boy?"

_Her Sammy boy?_

"He's great. We've actually met before"

"Oh great! Isn't he cute? Best build I've ever seen"

Sam turns several shades of red but lets out a faint smile.

"He sure is", she responds.

Sam turns an even deeper shade of red, if it's possible. Their eyes lock and Patty doesn't skip a beat.

"Oh, I see. You've got the hots for each other. Cute couple. Anyways, we've got to serve the food in about 5 minutes so you can flirt all you want with my cousin after feeding the homeless"

It's Rachel's turn to get red. She's happy Sam and Patty aren't an item. Cousins! Great!

They follow Patty out of the kitchen, both red and smiling. While serving soup, Sam observes Rachel and realizes isn't great to see her again. Rachel observes him too, smiling every once in a while they make eye contact. She too realizes it's great to have him back, but he's changed. She can't help but wonder, what happened to the Sam Evans that went to McKinley, and why doesn't he want to go back?

**Chapter 2 should be up either tomorrow or the next day. Hope you all had a great christmas and boxing day (if you live in Canada like me) !**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here it is, chapter 3!**

**This is going to help set the "problem" for Sam. Rachel's problem will be shown in the next chapter.**

**Thank you for all the reviews and story alerts/favourites :) I'm glad you like the story so far!**

**Also, I'd like to say: Happy New Year! It's new year's eve for me right now, but might as well say it now, right? :)**

**I hope you all have a great year, make it yours! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee. **

Rachel would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about Sam every day for the whole week. She'd also be lying if she said she isn't looking forward to seeing Sam Evans again.

She steps out of the car, almost falling on her butt, but luckily a certain rocker blond comes up behind her to catch her in the last second. She utters a thank you, feeling as grateful as she is embarrassed. He gives her his signature smile, filled with schoolboy innocence and charm, and they walk into the building together, Rachel's arm nearly tucked under his.

They both feel strange, awkward butterflies in their stomachs, but their lips curl upwards involuntarily.

Patty greets them with her broad smile, showing her perfect white teeth, and eyes their interlocked arms. She winks at them and gives them an organized schedule of the tasks they'll be doing.

"You've given me hope, Rachel Berry", Patty remarks.

First up: chopping vegetables. Sam fetches the cutting boards while Rachel washes the carrots and potatoes.

They work in comfortable silence for 10 minutes until the question that's been haunting Rachel slips out. She's never been known to keep things to herself anyways.

"Sam, why didn't you want to come back to McKinley?"

The question sets something off inside Sam. His facial features contort, and he pauses what he's doing.

"I told you, I wanted some change"

"I see"

"Ok, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, with the new bad-boy rocker look and added attitude, it's clear you've made quite a change"

Rachel holds her head high, trying to maintain ground. _Why is he so sensitive about this subject?_

Sam relaxes, takes in a breath, and apologizes.

"I'm sorry, Rach. I just, I don't want to talk about McKinley or my new look. People change. Please understand"

Rachel nods lightly, and they both carry on chopping. In an effort to alleviate tension, Sam playfully throws a carrot square by Rachel's feet, to which she gasps, picks it up, and throws it back.

They laugh, truly laugh for the first time ever. For the first time in a while for both of them.

Small talk, a few chuckles, and some heart palpitations later, the awkwardness is completely gone.

That's when Rachel decides to take another chance.

"Sam, if I may ask-"

"Rach..."

"No, it's not about... That. I'm just wondering, why are you here?"

"To help", he offers back with an obvious smile.

"But, why?"

"Well, after being practically homeless and knowing what it's like to truly starve and work immensely hard just for a mediocre meal, I promised myself I'd help people like me, those in need, if I ever could. No one should feel like I did,"

Rachel's heart skips a beat at the sparkle that forms in his eyes as he speaks. Honest and comforting.

"Then my dad got his old job back, and suddenly we're better than ok. I didn't waste a second to sign up here and help out. I keep my promises, you know"

"I know, I remember."

She offers him a smile, remembering the time he kept his word to Kurt, promising to sing a duet with him, even though Finn told him not to. They didn't end up singing together, but at least Sam had the good intention.

"Anyways, what about you?"

"My intentions were selfish at first, to use this in my resume, to help out when applying to top collages, but there's something about this place that I fell in love with."

Sam gives her an understanding nod. He knows. He feels it too.

They finish up and move on to their next task, setting the tables, which they share with everyone else.

The place is full of positive ambience. Rachel notices that a few more people have joined volunteering since last week. She gives them a heartwarming welcome along with Sam, and opens the door to the line of hungry people. As they start to pile in, Patty nudges Rachel and raises her chin in Sam's direction with a smirk. Rachel looks his way as well, noticing that he'd been staring at her almost admiringly. A flushed Rachel brushes Patty off, shaking her head, with her best attempt at seeming oblivious.

After an hour or so, the place is cleaned and closed. Everyone says their goodbyes and see yous, but Sam offers to take Rachel for an ice cream around the corner, not ready to say goodbye to her quite yet, to which she gladly agrees.

They talk and giggle about their Avatar and Broadway obsessions until their cones are finished, and they head out. Sam is walking Rachel to her car but as they round the corner a group of teenage boys dressed like Sam Evans wave at them. Rachel notices that they're Sam's friends from Riverdale, so she waves back, though she can't help but notice they're checking her out. She also notices that Sam has takes a step away from her and seems nervous. They group of boys approach them, all smiles.

"Evans, you didn't tell us you had a girlfriend! Meagan's going to murder someone when she hears about this!" The boy looks Rachel up and down, winks, and play-punches Sam on the shoulder.

"Dude, lay off. She's just some chick I was friends with at my old school"

Wait, chick? Rachel is now sure that something's wrong with Sam. She looks at him in disbelief and Sam just shrugs his shoulders.

"My name is Rachel Berry. It's nice to meet some of Sam's friends", she greets. The boys look at one another and chuckle. A tall blonde approaches her and says, "So if you're not Sam's girl, can I get in there?"

"Wh-what?" She can't believe them, what kind of friends are these?

Once again, she looks at Sam, who's still not bothered by their behaviour. Rachel stares at him until he briefly meets her gaze, and finally speaks up.

"So I'll see you around, Rachel"

That is not what she had in mind, but Sam remains adamant. She also sees a bit of desperation in his eyes. She doesn't know what's going on so she decides to play along now and ask about it later.

"Sure Sam. See you later"

She walks back to her car by herself, and Sam joins the group of boys high-fiving him. She spends the drive home wondering why Sam would ever hang out with those guys. It's not like him, he's always been friendly towards everyone, and those immature boys were so rude! She decides that when she sees him next week, he better have an explanation. Where was Sam Evans? What is happening to him?


End file.
